Mapuche: The eternity of tomorrow

F. H. (21) Lives in a reclaimed territory. The police shot him in the mouth with a rubber bullet. He and his family have suffered ridicule and psychological violence at the hands of the police. Collipulli, Araucanía. July 20, 2019.

Wexipantu (New Year) ceremony in Lof Rdanco, Curacautín. Araucanía. June 23, 2023.

Forest fire near the Biobío region. Several forestry companies often burn their forests to renew production, which often causes uncontrollable fires that have a huge impact on the environment and nearby towns, mostly Mapuche communities. January 2017. Between the Maule and Biobío regions. Southern Chile.

V.C. (12) Her father and brothers were falsely accused of murder and their home was violently raided by the police. Ercilla, Araucanía. Chile. April 14, 2019.

The Bio Bio river. For the Mapuche nation the Bio-Bio river represent the natural border between the Mapuche lands and Chile to the north. March 4th.2022. Araucanía, Chile /Cristóbal Olivares pour Le Monde

Mari Luz Colihuinca touches her faces at home in the Ancapi Ñancocheo Mapuche community on March 2nd. 2022. Araucanía, Chile /Cristóbal Olivares pour Le Monde

The living room of the Torres-Toro family. One of the sons, S.T. (14), was shot in the leg by police during a raid on this home located in the Pidima area of the Araucanía region. Since April 20, 2017, Silvestre has been living with five bullets in his left leg, one of which is partially embedded in his kneecap and another dangerously close to his femoral artery. Araucanía region, Chile. April 7, 2019.

Belén Curamil (19), daughter of Alberto Curamil, a Mapuche political prisoner, holds a kultrún, a traditional Mapuche musical instrument. Curacautín, Araucanía region, Chile. March 23, 2019.

Mapuche communities perform the Choike Purrun dance during the Wexipantu (New Year) ceremony in Lof Rdanco, Curacautín, Araucanía. June 23, 2023.

Weliwen Curamil (9), son of Alberto Curamil, a Mapuche political prisoner and winner of the 2019 Goldman Environmental Prize, which he received in prison. In this photo, Weliwen wears a Kollón mask, used in Mapuche ceremonies to ward off evil spirits. Curacautín region, Araucanía, Chile. August 11, 2019.

A court for playing palín, a traditional Mapuche game, is drawn in the middle of a forest of non-native species (pines and eucalyptus) owned by the Mininco forestry company. Communities in resistance often play palín-weichan before beginning a land recovery process, as a way of preparing for the struggle. Collipulli area. Araucanía. Chile. October 4, 2019.

A military police officer stands guard at the entrance to the Mapuche community of Temucuicui on June 25, 2023. Araucanía, Chile.

T. H. (9) has seen his father, an important Werkén (spokesperson for the traditional authority), imprisoned by the police on several occasions. Collipulli, Araucanía. Chile. April 9, 2019.

A lagoon near Carolina Soto from Lof Dawulko Karulen community home on March 3rd, 2022. Araucanía, Chile /Cristóbal Olivares pour Le Monde

Mario Mila Millalen, a high-ranking Mapuche political leader, walks through his lands in Loncoche, Araucanía Region, Chile, on Friday, August 12, 2022.

A horse’s heart for preparations for the Wexipantu (New Year) ceremony in Lof Rdanco, Curacautín, Araucanía. June 20, 2023.

Pine forest fields (non native, rom the forest industry) seen from above 2022. Araucanía, Chile /Cristóbal Olivares pour Le Monde

Brandon Hernández Huentecol was shot in the back while being restrained by Sergeant Christian Rivera, who was sentenced to three years of probation. Brandon still has more than 80 lead bullets in his body. (He was shot more than 130 times.) Curaco, Araucanía region. Chile. April 18, 2019.

The night before the Wexipantu (Mapuche New Year) ceremony in Lof Rdanco, Curacautín. Araucanía. June 22, 2023.

For generations, mistreatment of the Mapuche people—who number around 1.9 million and represent approximately 10% of Chile’s population—has marred the country’s development. The Araucanía region, home to a significant portion of these communities, is one of the poorest in Chile: of its 957,224 inhabitants, 17.2% live below the poverty line. For decades, the Mapuche have demanded the restitution of their ancestral lands, many of which are now in the hands of forestry and agricultural companies or the descendants of European settlers.

In the absence of a receptive state that would allow for the restitution of the lands and their demands, the level of conflict between the various governments and the communities in the region is increasing.
The Mapuche are taking pressure measures such as occupying the lands and properties they are claiming. This process of vindication and increased confrontation has generated an adverse reaction from the government, which has resulted in the implementation of a policy of judicial persecution and criminalization of collective actions, harassment and persecution of leaders, and the militarization of these territories and communities.

Between 2015 and 2022, a total of 2,241 bullets were fired by the police in the region. “The police have drones watching us all night long,” says Carolina Soto, a Mapuche Werken.
In 2019, she says she was arrested and beaten. A police officer, pressing his boot against her neck, dislocated her shoulder.

Violence against the Mapuche has serious and specific consequences for children and adolescents, resulting from repression, criminalization, raids, interrogations, and other actions carried out by members of the special operations forces. Various NGOs and the National Institute of Human Rights recorded 133 cases involving acts of police violence against Mapuche youth between 2015 and 2019, while many others have not been reported.

These cases are rarely reported in the traditional media, which leads to misinformation and means that the Chilean population knows very little about the Mapuche struggle and their demands, which are evolving daily and are far from over. 2019-2023